Hospitality Marketing The Podcast Show 277

Hospitality Marketing The Podcast SHow 277 Transcripts (English U.S.)

Announcer — Welcome to this week in Hospitality Marketing. The podcast show number 277 with your host, Loren Gray.

Hello, everyone, and welcome to hospitality marketing the podcast. I’m your host, Loren Gray, and this is episode number 277. So, each week we spend around 20 to 30 minutes sharing the most interesting tools, news and techniques being used in marketing for the hospitality industry. We also do a quick recap of our weekly live video show this week in Hospitality Marketing, which also airs every Friday at 11:30 a.m. Eastern US time. So, with that, let’s get started on now.

Announcer–Today’s new resource tool.

So our tool for review. Unlike tools in the weeks prior to this, our tool for review is more sentient to a time of year that we have and the opportunity to take advantage of the time of the year that we have. And the tool itself is called dubbed D u b b dot com. What makes Dub interesting is it allows for customized videos to be sent to email list SMS messaging, drip campaigns, progressive conversation, a K drip campaigns in different formats on conditional replies, based on what they engaged with.

When I say that this isn’t your typical just grab the screen cast and can taste or screen, grab video and record a video and then drop it in as a file in an email. This is much more robust of a platform that allows you to create triggers. How long did they watch the video? Did they watch it far enough for certain trigger to happen versus watching it farther for another trigger to happen? Did you give them options to watch the next video or different video based on their interaction?

Much like one of the other tools we feature called Interact Er um, where created conditional video watching. This also can be in SMS messaging. It could be in your email sends. It could trigger based upon what they did or didn’t open. If they watched the video, it would open a new video, new email, or send an email to you or send an SMS messaging to you. It’s a very robust dialogue, but most importantly, the key element of this whole conversation about the tool is that it’s a video interaction.

We know that we’re very visual. We know that given our current circumstances with covid that we’re both have the time and the aptitude to watch video, video engagement. Now podcast obviously have their place, and we’ve been talking about Podcast is a medium off conversation and message building for relationships with our guests. Well, video as we know it has always been a strong suit. That’s what we do. The live video show. When we were doing it for seven years, every Friday we have over 25,000 people to watch it.

32 countries, 11 languages. We do this because it is a means of which people enjoy interacting. They love watching, whether in live engagement, where they can ask questions, engage themselves or as a recorded broadcast in which they can watch, listen. And if they have questions, send emails via asking. A question dubbed dot com allows you to create that initiation of conversation with your guests. It allows them to have a visual representation of conversation from a sales perspective. Obviously, the strength is there because it personalizes what you want to do.

There’s Softwares we’ve talked about many times, which will auto synthesized voices, you know ai where it sounds very realistic. And matter of fact, our introduction to our podcast is generated each week by one of those same set platforms. Voice buddy. Um, but we know the videography and the ability for you to personalize your own message yourself instead of saying hi dear insert name guest. You can actually go and say, Hi, Lauren. We’re hoping that through our discussion that we just recently had on the phone, or we’re looking forward to our future discussion with you about the X Y Z project you have or your interest in doing ABC or whatever it is allows that personalization of videography.

First, they get to see you here, you and no, that is you. That’s saying this message to them because you’re personalizing it to them. You’re giving them the options within the video to go over and create that dialogue with you. It creates an initiation of incubation or drip campaign with them that keeps that personalization with them. Very powerful tool dubbed dot com. And I’ll tell you why we’re talking about this tool next and our technique of the week

Announcer — Now for this week’s hospitality technique.

So, our technique this week is “ringing true in your holiday marketing message for 2020”.

Historically, we’ve taken the holiday period to be a quote excuse to reinstitute old email lists. Tired and cold conversations that didn’t go anywhere either come in the graveyard of dialogue for all the people that you would create a dialogue with, but it didn’t work out or that had been previous guests of yours that didn’t come back or if they did, but they didn’t keep engaged with you, uh, in content or engagement with emails or what have you. Holidays is a wonderful excuse to rekindle that conversation by wishing them the happy holidays.

Whether it’s Thanksgiving, whether it’s Christmas, whether it is, um, kawanza, whether it is Passover, whatever it is, it is your opportunity to say, Hey, by the way, I like to go over and wish you a happy holiday bind by way. If we were interested, we could pick up the conversation for your last left off, and or if you’re interested, we’re reminding you what you’re interested in this four and or Hey, we’re still here. Hope you you know you might remember us and go back and see what made you interested with us before.

All those are the excuses of the holiday. Now that’s the historical value of what holidays have been. Now the other aspect of holidays is the strength in amplifying the purchase mentality that people have during this time of year in a heightened sense. The reason why it’s called Black Friday for those in the trivial world is because this is the first day that the ink, so to speak, in the accounting books of retail went from red, which was deficit to black, which was positive. Hence, black Friday was the launch to the incredible large retail sales mechanism that the holidays had become.

Now, this year, especially unlike any others, has changed dramatically. That perception Black Friday isn’t the launch date. Black Friday is pretty much in the progression dates. We know that in October, places like Amazon with their prime day’s other retail large retail, that’s it, like Target and Wal Mart, Um, all launched early early on what they called Black Friday deals, which were deals that, uh, basically give you best opportunities. Unlike waiting for Today black Friday to a roll out, their greatest deals and Onley be available starting today.

They’ve been available for weeks for a couple of reasons. We’ve talked in previous conversations on podcasting before on the show before is, uh, one the overt amount. 56% more people are buying online than they have being nearest passed because of covert and the distancing and what have you. And so the supply chain is strained where things may not be in inventory and out of that first hand from some of the technology presence on buying for friends right now. And the second is, is that the delivery funnel might be actually has already been promised to be overtaxed, starting this day forward, where the delivery services may not be able to keep up with the demand in their systems toe actually provide the delivery on the timely manner like they normally conduce because of the overwhelming demand that they have.

Why am I bringing all this up on the technique and why am I bringing up in relationship to ringing truth in your holiday marketing messaging? Because there’s a fine line now, more so than ever has been in the history of most of us doing marketing where we have to be very true and not tone deaf to our marketing messages. We can’t say bye now, here now here’s our best price could get by by by. We have tremendous amount of stress is in our family lives. There are many people that are struggling with a lack of income.

Ah, lack of jobs, lack of clarity of their industry or industry is one of the hardest hits into that. There is a tremendous amount of other brothers and sisters for lack of a better term that have lost their positions through no fault of their own. But through the economies of a covert has done to our industry and lockdowns in the restrictions and the reduced travel in the in the fear of travel that has been put through the media not because of the media media reports it, but because of the rial and very, very tangible risk of health.

And so a lot of our industry, friends and family have lost their jobs, and we are by far not the only industry that has had that happen, uh, firsthand case. And because of that, there’s a lot of people that don’t have the income means to have a what they used to have is a normal holiday, and that includes buying things from us. Um, from being in our restaurants, for gift cards to our hotels, uh, to stand in our to our resorts, taking advantage of our cruises, uh, taking advantage of any of that spas golf.

There’s just a lack of income capability or the ability to financially take that on. So we have to make sure we don’t go tone deaf to that. The other thing we have to not be tone deaf of is to be ignoring the fact that people have lived through riel, intangible tragedies, family lost friends and have been been lost. Those that have been suffering through this and those that are currently suffering through the numbers are astronomical at this point, sadly astronomical at this point. And because of that, there are people that are actively living through the crisis.

That’s now they don’t have the joy of the holidays, yet they have the reality of what’s going on in health right now in their lives and the mental anguish that that can also provide those that may be physically impacted by the virus, but also those that are family and friends of those have been impacted by cov virus to stress and anxiety associate with it and those that are financially in ruins and also uncertainty through the covert virus pandemic right now. And those air all realities in large numbers in our population now in our own demographics country, city, whatever and globally.

So to ignore that and go Ho, ho, ho, cherry, cherry, cherry It’s holidays spend, spend, spend is tone deaf. It’s blind to the reality is that a lot of people are facing the theme, the angst, and we can certainly irritate people and create a negative impact with them if we are tone deaf and blind to the reality of what some people are going through. And just like we don’t like massive multiple retargeting where we go toe one website and then we see that ad literally everywhere for days, if not weeks, on everything that we do in a browser.

And it turns infuriating that these people can’t just don’t have the common sense to shut off the retargeting. We’re not interested now. I will never buy something for me because you’ve turned annoying. And so because of that, our marketing could go the same negative way. So we have to ring true with what we’re saying. To do that and to tie in our tool feature dubbed dot com, is to personalize our communication to talk to whom we’re sending this information to to not just blindly say, Oh, check Christmas card, send everybody blink hope you and yours having a wonderful holiday season that’s tone deaf by bringing in technology like dub dot com and others in the director on and on and on those things and allowing the personalization to be there.

Hey, Lauren, we hope this holiday finds you well for you and your family that you’re safe, healthy and most importantly, happy. We would love for you to know that we are wishing you the best for this time of year and that when you come to the side, that travel turns back into your plans and your kid and you have the ability and desire to travel in combination to the safety of it. We hope you remember we would love for you to join the stay with us so we can take care of you and your family Should you travel again in our area that truism of that empathy, that the reality of being genuine and communicate that by via video by via the type of tool the dub is and other mediums like that allows you to be front of mind noninvasive.

And for those that can take advantage of what it is that you’re asking them to consider, it’s not a hard sell. It’s not room and rate date and all this other stuff it’s about we’re here. If you find it that you can travel with us now or in the future, we have solutions for either of those circumstances. Here’s our rates for now, our holiday rates. For now, here’s our holiday discounts for future bookings with cancer, billet, ease and safety protocols all there for you. And also if you don’t know exactly what the demand of your travel might be, here’s a means of credit cards or, uh, future purchases that you can use to give to gifts to other people, uh, to friends and family, or even to yourself, and there’s a reward program to it.

Here’s our loyalty value program, whatever it is ringing true with the holiday conversation is truly the strongest that you can dio, Um, when it comes to this time of year, especially for this year, while bringing true in the holiday market messaging for 2020 having that sensitivity to who’s listening to you, what their circumstances, maybe their their fears, their their their health restrictions that might prevent them. They may have all the desire in the world to travel. They may have all the financial capabilities to travel, yet they may not have the health to travel.

There’s so many variables, as we’ve come to realize over these past nine months of who has the ability to travel, what the restrictions, air travel and what their safety protocols are for them to be willing to travel. Just try to second guess that or toe lump sum people into generalized categories, Uh, is to stereotype them so to speak is unfair and certainly below the technology that we have available in our industry today, like tools like dub dot com and others. So there you have it, our technique this week reading True in your holiday marketing message for 2020 on this Black Friday.

Announcer — Now this week’s hospitality news that you should know

So news and show review we had a fun laid back show. To be honest with you for doing this for seven years now our show be landing on Friday comes after Thanksgiving every year. And because of that, Uh, yes, there’s been There’s been shows where I’ve been by myself, because, honestly, all the co hosts are by volunteering their time, and they have family obligations and they’re taking time off. And joining the show, as enjoyable as it is for them, isn’t something that fits into that schedule for them.

So I thought I was going to be by myself today’s live show. But actually, I had a wonderful entourage of Adele Gutman from Aspire Reputation Marketing, Edward ST Ange from Flip to and Stuart Butler from Fuel Travel. And we’re very open ended conversation. We didn’t have, ah, hard list to go through. We didn’t have, you know, table thumping things that we’re trying to make a point on. It was really a wonderful, enjoyable, open dialogue about Thanksgiving. Ah, little bit personalization as to what Thanksgiving means to all of us eyes in a little bit of echo to our conversations from last week.

As to, um, mental health and emotional stability, and the impact that that has on our industry and those that are facing the ramifications of covert for those in our industry. So we really want to just kind of talk about the happiness that can be for the thankfulness of those of us who can have a Thanksgiving are not going through past and present tragedies. Um, was fun to talk about. Of course, I had to hit on my VR Oculus discussion as to how happy I am with it.

How I got to watch the Macy’s Thanksgiving parade in in virtual reality is if I was in the middle of the parade with the balloons about my head and the rockets around and everything else. It was a lot of fun for that, Um, and then again, a little bit to what we talked about the podcast today about the marketing message for the holiday season. This year, the tourism of that, the need for it on and in the tone, the lack of being tone deaf of being sensitive to whom your messaging and talking to.

We then went off on a little bit of attention towards what really government interaction would mean. Del brought up the fact that she was applauding the government’s actions in Canada for restricting fees associated with delivery services to which Stewart and at both pushed back on, uh, the impact of the slippery slope of government can have that it actually creates a new existence that is extended for those companies because they are allowed to Basically, they’re not gonna accept the brunt of the loss. They’re gonna translate that to somebody else, whether it’s the guest that’s purchasing it or the delivery person that has to eat the cost, they themselves are not gonna take that cost hit.

They’re gonna roll that downhill, so to speak, also to and this one to r o D o t a discussion, Um, by not allowing them to get out priced where they go too far up, which allows Newmarket present penetration by those that come in and say I could do a cheaper, which is a little bit to what we’re seeing with O. T. A s. Uh, there was a whole mess O. T is out there, and the main competitive competitive value of them was our commissions or less than somebody else.

They eventually went away because they couldn’t get to critical mass and over absorbed by larger ones. And those larger ones lowered their percentage costs as they were able, needing to lower those costs to maintain their market share. So we had that back and forth about the government interaction and so forth. True point to be made. Delivery services do charge too much. The restaurants can’t absorb all of that cost and restaurants being forced into that world of delivery and pickup only and delivery especially for those fees, regardless of the cost savings that Ed pointed out about lack of insurance or drivers and having to hire drivers and everything else that cost is excessive.

And I hope that the market evolves where they can create their own solutions, as there are a lot of them out there now that are not fee based to run, but collectively within the demography of the group of restaurants. They collaboratively work together to say, Let us stop using these expensive pay for delivery services that simply because the merit of their marketing are pervasive in our market and instead push this cost effective free to us tense, we don’t have to raise prices to our our guests delivery systems that can be used.

And then we can pay for our own deliveries and or find means to doing delivery services that are not as expensive. So again, great conversation on all that. Um, we also talked about how restaurants and hotels and you think of long term changes. We think not of sustainability, that I own a restaurant. It holds a 250 people. I want to get back to where I can fill those two and 50 seats up to three times a lunch to three times twice for dinner. Whatever it is, um, that world may not exist anymore.

We talked about New York. We talked about, you know, the walk in cramped, clouded sit between you and 15 other people. Think maybe a point in the past. If you ask people about ghost kitchens two years ago, they wouldn’t know what you’re talking about. That you talk about a Halloween thing or what Now ghost kitchens are very real and very much a threat to restaurants. They’re trying toe think that they’re hanging on to going back to the business the way it was built before him, where they need to look at redefining their logistic operations to perhaps beam or like a ghost kitchen.

Maybe this is the evolution I brought up. The example, uh, made a joke about Robert, probably having lived through it when we went from horse driven to cars, the horse driven economy. There was stables and paddocks and and little polls for horses to be tied off on and wheel routes and wheel rights and and buggy makers and buggy whip makers and and people that cleaned up the horse stuff that was left on the streets. There was a whole economy about horse driven transportation that had to change into car driven chance people where gas stations were built in automotive re player places and places where horses were kept no longer being necessary and they had to be changed to something else.

Same, too, with restaurants at two and 50 seat room restaurant may not be a future reality, and if it is, it might only be a 50 seat restaurant, well spaced and divided. Who’s to say, but the impacts of what’s gonna happen in our future economy. We got us the vaccines and adoptions and so forth. I would say the scarring But the impact of our future social tense is forever changed. How we look at ourselves in the future, even if it’s 3 to 5 years down the road, will be impacted by what’s happening right now with us.

Our hesitancy for groups, perhaps our resistance to confined areas or what have you are our precautions. We take because of it, our willingness to go out to certain things because of the immediately that these things hit Ed made an excellent point. And then when this gets to the level of flu, were unfortunately the losses still occur. Flu does create deaths. And of course, he brought up the heart attacks and heart disease and so forth being even worse than all of this. Um, but we don’t give it the same focused and featured attention to this because of how we say it gets shared or doesn’t get shared or brought on.

But as a society, we don’t raise our ire about that. Even though we can look at the pace is that contribute to that? We don’t. We don’t condemn them as much as we condemn people that don’t wear mask or keep distance, or what have you given the current environment. So lots of fun conversations about that in the long term sense of the impact of how that will happen against our industry. But we’ll change in our industry. And how we change is a culture for that. Um And then, of course, we talked about what is going to take in the long term sense for people to feel that they are safe enough to travel again in the tents that were more familiar with prior to Kobe.

Great conversations and all that. We had a little bit shorter compared to normal show. We’re a little over an hour and a half this time, not our full two hour plus that we normally dio again those holiday and I had the privilege of all of them joining me. So it was kind of a fun toe. Have the conversations that we did without extending it into the full two hour format. So, um, again, thank you. And remember, you can find us on Google play apple iTunes I heart radio soundcloud stitcher, Spotify Pandora.

The list goes on and on and on, uh, 39 platforms, actually in counting. Uh, we’re even on Amazon’s Alexa Google assistant in Syria, just asked the play hospitality marketing podcast, and it’ll plan into those platforms and no matter which one you may use. If you like the show, please rate us and leave a comment. That way we can find out what it is that you feel that we’re doing right and also wrong. And if you have suggested what you’d like to hear, we’re more than welcome to listen to it on.

Don’t get uh, if this is your first time hearing is, you can subscribe to our show on any of those 39 platforms as well. Of course, for an archive of all of our previous podcast, you could go to hospitality digital marketing dot com for slash podcast. And don’t forget our live video talk show that you can join and participate in each Friday at 11:30 a.m. Eastern US time called This Weekend Hospitality Marketing, the live show. And for that you consider Goto Hospitality digital marketing dot com forward slash live again.

Thank you for the privilege of your time. I’m happiest of Thanksgivings and Thanksgiving Weekend. We hope that your family, you and your families are both happy, safe and healthy, and we look forward to talking to you next week.

Announcer — You have been listening to this week in Hospitality Marketing, the podcast show 277 brought to you by Hospitality Digital Marketing in support of the HSMAI, the Hospitality Sales and Marketing Association International. All rights reserved copyright 2020.